Update (September 9): TI is now headed towards its main event phase, and the question of who will win the tournament is only heating up as eight teams remain involved in the competition. Despite being widely regarded as the favorite, Team Spirit has been eliminated, as has notable contender Team Liquid. But favorites Parivision and Team Falcons remain involved in the competition, are still strong picks to win The International.
The same can be said for Team Tidebound, a dark horse pick that not only remains alive, but has surprised many observers with its outstanding performance to date. Then there’s Xtreme Gaming, also from China, who have been the shock of the event thus far. The only thing that seems certain is that the remainder of the tournament will be just as dramatic as the event to date.
For more of our original analysis on The International 2025, read on.
Over the years, TI has delivered either wild upsets or foregone conclusions. Such teams as Alliance in 2013, Newbee in 2014, and Team Liquid in 2017 have made good on high expectations and taken home the Aegis of Champions. On the flipside, Wings Gaming winning in 2016, OG winning in 2018, and Team Spirit winning in 2021 were all big surprises.
So with that in mind, who are the teams that you can regard as a serious contender to win The International 2025? And who are the teams that are true dark horses at this event? Here’s a full breakdown.
Team Spirit is regarded as the definitive favorite to win The International 2025.
Fans and sportsbooks alike are pointing at the two-time championship-winning team as the favorite to win the event and claim a considerable share of the TI prize pool. While Spirit has been a serious contender all year, the team is currently riding high on a string of top-four finishes, including a win in the Esports World Cup’s Dota 2 tournament.
From there, three other teams are being given serious consideration: Parivision, Team Liquid, and Team Falcons.
Parivision had a very strong spring season that included first-place finishes in ESL One Raleigh and DreamLeague Season 26. The team cooled down a bit in the summer, but has still posted strong showings in multiple tournaments.
Dota2 – Team Spirit vs PARIVISION – ESL One Raleigh 2025 – Grand Finals
Team Falcons has the opposite story. Despite having a very strong 2024, the team wasn’t in peak form through most of 2025. But during the summer, things heated up with a second-place finish in the Esports World Cup and a first-place finish at FISSURE Universe: Episode 6. The final tournaments before The International often hint at who will win the TI championship, which suggests Falcons has a good shot.
Finally, Team Liquid has had a mixed year that was buoyed by a few tournament wins. Liquid is being given a better shot than most thanks to it winning The International last year.
Tundra Esports and Team Tidebound are the best candidates to make a dark horse run and win TI14.
Tundra has been one of the best Dota 2 teams all year and posted top-four finishes in five of its last six tournaments. That includes a second-place run in Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi and a first-place finish in Blast Slam 3. Yet despite being generally strong throughout the year, Tundra isn’t being given much of a shot by bookmakers or fans.
Team Tidebound is China’s top Dota 2 team today and it has an intriguing case to be viewed as a dark horse contender to win TI this year. Tidebound has posted mixed results throughout the year, but has notched strong placements in its best tournament showings. That includes winning Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi. Tidebound has also notched wins over all the other top teams in 2025, albeit without the capacity to do so consistently enough to win the biggest events on the Dota 2 tournament calendar.
Still, Tidebound’s results, the strength of its roster, and its recent form all suggest that it has a better chance of a deep run at TI than many think, a run that may even be capped by a championship win if the squad can maintain its form across the event.
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